Does purchasing Tears of Veeshan unlock the ability to use mercs or do you have to purchase that separately?
1500SC unlocks the use of Mercenaries as an account feature. It's not bundled in any expansion at this point although you can buy a bundle of the Age of Discovery features cheaper than if you buy them all separately.
It originally was part of an expansion, but now you have to buy it with station cash. One of the 'must have' options in my opinion. At least it makes the game a lot more fun and allows you to play in areas you wouldn't be able to without the merc.
Age of Discovery technically wasn't an expansion...SOE called it a "feature pack", since it didn't add new content, just things like mercs, reforging, and so on. They quickly learned that it caused a lot of confusion ["But the current expansion should include all prior, why doesn't it include AoD??"], so have backed off on the concept. Now the features are available via Station Cash, either individually or as a bundle, letting you pick and choose what you want [and potentially save some real money if you happened to pick up SC during a sale].
Mercs can be useful but they are by no means necessary. It's not until higher levels 80 or 90+ that you might remoting get into content that can be said to 'need' mercs to do content.
You don't need them if you are doing appropriate content. Mercs tend to be overpowered and can allow you to do things you might never think of attempting solo in which case you do "need" them as you are just along for the ride.
Actually, they called it an "expansion pack", clarifying that it was "a collection of major features" (among those features being mercs, reforging, tradeskill apprentices, and dungeon maker). Plus, this is what the expansions page for EQ2 used to say: So, yeah, it really was an expansion. It just wasn't a content expansion - it was a features expansion. You can call it whatever you want to call it. SOE did not, however, call it a feature pack in any article I have seen - and I have looked extensively to try to find the reference that people (who claim that SOE did so) are using. If you do have a link to a reference with a SOE executive referring to it specifically as a "feature pack", please feel free to provide it. _______________________________________________________________________________ As others have pointed out, the ability to use mercs does not come with ToV. It can either be purchased by itself or as part of a bundle with the rest of the features that were part of AoD when it was available.
Good catch, and a fair cop. I wasn't trying to mislead; the phrase "feature pack" has been used a lot to describe AoD [a quick search of the forums for "feature pack" shows that many of us have used it], and it has become a good way to explain to folks why the AoD features aren't included in ToV and will cost extra. Given some of the folks I saw using the phrase and also evoking SOE, I admit to giving them the benefit of the doubt...thanks for the legwork, Rotherian, I am blushing but now I know [and knowing is half the battle, etc.]. Apologies, Kaedian66, for using the wrong phrase. Rotherian has it right: it was indeed released as an expansion, but an odd one that will likely continue to bite SOE on the rump for a while yet, since it is not included in the roll-up with the current content as is done with prior expansions. Regardless of nomenclature, the answers you've received still stand: mercs are purchased separately from ToV, either individually or as part of the AoD bundle on the Marketplace. Cheers! [from a slightly smarter ogre]
Call it what you will, but to counter all the complainers there is a valid reason for it never getting bundled. Normal expansions contain content that eventually goes out of date when a new expansion comes out, so as a result that old expansion will get bundled for free later. AoD however contains features, which permanently stay current and useful, so there is no reason to expect them to suddenly become free, as they are as relevant now as they were at release. At least now they have broken it down so you can pick and choose which parts you want, to save some cash if you only require one or two parts, but there is no reason at all why they should give away something that some people will continue to find essential, they are not a charity, you already get enough for free as it is. Amazes me how hard some people find it to understand this concept lol.
heehe actually none of this is simple to the newcomer. What it looks like is for one thing buying a full expansion thinking I would get mercs.... would instead get me no mercs and an expansion I cant use till I leveled up- not very handy to new peoples. Furthermore, it is standard practice in this industry that when you purchase the latest 'expansion' all of the features from the game prior are generally available. I am glad I read ahead before buying anything- or i would feel ripped off.
I would say at this point that NOTHING is "standard" in this industry. You've got Blizzard, then you've got a bunch of other companies trying all sorts of business models to try and remain (or become) profitable. I don't know how the company behind Lineage is doing (they were the big bad boys before Blizzard, at least ten times the players of Everquest). The next big thing is going to be Star Citizen. How that will actually pan out though is anyone's guess. It will be profitable, because all the millions of dollars the game has used in development were/are crowdfunded - meaning they don't count as debt and never have to be paid back. EVERY MMO company, established and startup, is watching that development very closely and waiting to see how its launch will go. At the other end of the pool (pun intended), you've got all the little 'casual' games that people buy one or two a week to get their punch cards filled out so they can get some "free" games to help whittle away the time. The cost works out about the same between the two, assuming the casual game guy buys things on sale and shops smart.
Yes, the Age of Discovery features as one pack is cheaper than buying them all separately but if you have no interest in the dungeon maker, it's cheaper to buy the reforging and mercenaries (those 2) then buying the Age of Discovery pack that includes dungeon maker.
